Get Up

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NIV

I've mentioned before how I like to read quotes and one of my favorites is from American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison. In response to someone's statement that he (Thomas) had failed so many times in trying to invent the light bulb, Edison replied, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

I love his attitude, but it's one of the reasons I could never be a scientist or inventor. They have to keep record of how many unsuccessful attempts they've made so that they don't make the same mistake twice. I'll just tell you - if it had been left up to me to invent the lightbulb, we'd all still be using candles. I wouldn't want to know that I'd been unsuccessful 10,000 times about anything, let alone keep a record for the world to know...

How many times have you tried to do something and not been successful? For me, it's too many times to count. That can be very discouraging. Often we interpret 'unsuccessful' as a nicer way of phrasing 'failure;' however, being unsuccessful is not the same as having failed. Have you ever been so tired of trying that you just quit? The truth is we only fail when we actually give up or quit trying.

Worse than that would be to not even attempt or try to do something because you don't know if you will succeed. That's fear of failure. It can be crippling. You know what I'm talking about. 

How many times have you heard someone say, "I can't be a Christian. I've tried. It's too hard." How many times have you heard the words, "I've tried. I can't. There's no hope for that..." Whatever 'that' is, you can be sure it is a stumbling block put there by the enemy of your soul to discourage you. To make you quit.

Let me give you some hope today. It does NOT matter what the facts are. The TRUTH is found in the Word of God. And God's Truth overwrites the facts.

...for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again... Proverbs 24:16a NIV 

So, get up...

Prayer:

Father,
           Open our hearts to see and know the Truth - and Triumph - of Your Word over every situation in our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Meeting the Need

The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they were overjoyed! The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord as a burnt offering.1st Samuel 6:13-14 NLT

I find stories of people going the extra mile for someone else to be captivating. Stories that involve elements such as knowing someone likes a certain something, but it’s not readily accessible or convenient, but expending the time and effort to make it happen – even when it’s not a birthday or special occasion. What a reflection of Christ-like character – whether intentional or not. And there are those who anticipate the needs of others and provide for those needs before they actually happen, so that when they do arise, the provision is already there. I love those kinds of things. I think they so typically portray God’s nature. God who has the plan and makes provision to ensure its success. Always meeting the need.

In this story, Israel had lost the Ark of the Covenant, and it was not good. God made it so that the Philistines HAD to return the Ark of the Covenant, but here He went the extra mile. I didn’t see it coming. As part of the Philistines returning the Ark, they built a cart and sent it with untried livestock; in doing so, included the wood and animals for the burnt offering. The cows stopped by a large stone, which was also convenient and necessary for the preparation. God had the plan and made provision to ensure its success. God more than met the need that day.

In Genesis 22, it did not look good at the time prior to the provision, but Abraham believed God no matter what and was obedient. God provided the ram in the thicket for the sacrifice necessary before proclaiming the Abrahamic blessing.  According to Scripture, obedience is better than sacrifice. God had the plan and made provision to ensure its success.

In Matthew 26 and Mark 14, in the Garden of Gethsemane, it didn’t look good. In front of Caiaphas and the High Council, on into Pilate’s and Herod’s courts and finally at Golgotha, it didn’t look good. But God was in the process of providing just what we needed.

Christ was obedient unto death and becameThe Perfect, once and for all Sacrifice who - according to Hebrews 9:12 - With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Verses 13-15 continue, Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. God's idea. God's plan. God's Son. That's what I call meeting the need.

Prayer:

Father,

          The more I get to know You, the more I am humbled by Your immeasurable love for us. You see us through the perfecting Blood of Christ. There is no other option but to offer ourselves in return. Let us not insult You or denigrate the provision You have made for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen